Personalization of a security and/or valuable document is a process, wherein personalized information, i.e., individual information for a certain person which is intended as being for the holder or owner of the security and/or valuable document, for instance picture information (such as passport photograph, finger print etc.), sequences of characters (such as name, address, place of residence etc.), is applied to or in the respective security and/or valuable document. This may take place, for example, in the form of colored or black and white imprints or laser engraving. Alternatively or additionally, this or other information for an individual person may, however, also be stored in an electronic circuit integrated in the security and/or valuable document, and then the electronic circuit or the information contained therein can be read by authorized persons.
The personalization can be made in a centralized manner or in a decentralized manner. In the centralized personalization option, the personalized information is determined and transmitted to a manufacturer of the security and/or valuable document. The latter then applies the personalized information in or on the security and/or valuable document during the production and completion thereof. In the decentralized personalization option, the manufacturer of the security and/or valuable document supplies a non-personalized blank to a location, which carries out the determination of the personalized information and applies it on or in the blank, thus completing the formation of the security and/or valuable document. If applicable a final application of an uppermost protective film may be used.
From the patent documents DE 2 907 004 C2, DE 3 151 407 C1 and EP 0 219 011 B1, different methods for laser marking of security and/or valuable documents are known in the art. By such methods, personalized information can be integrated in internal layers of a security and/or valuable document, thus providing protection very well against manipulations. However, by means of this method the integration of colored personalized information, such as, e.g., of passport photographs, is not possible.
From the patent documents U.S. Pat. No. 6,685,312; U.S. Pat. No. 6,932,527; U.S. Pat. No. 6,979,141; U.S. Pat. No. 7,037,013; U.S. Pat. No. 6,022,429 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,264,296, different methods for producing security and/or valuable documents are known in the art, wherein an inkjet printed layer is applied to a completed blank and then if, applicable, a protective paint is applied and the inkjet printed layer is protected against mechanical and/or chemical damages or manipulations. These methods are, therefore, basically suited for the decentralized personalization option. By these methods colored personalized information can be applied to the security and/or valuable document, however, in case of the decentralized option a later application of a protective paint or protective film is required which is an expensive matter. Further, the resulting very superficial arrangement does, not however, provide sufficient security against manipulations of the personalized information, particularly when the latter is removed for unauthorized purposes and used elsewhere or replaced; and then the destruction of the protective paint or film only occurs and they can be replaced if applicable.